On Stop Cyberbullying Day 2017, Telenor Group and Telenor Pakistan are launching the global ‘Be a Cyberhero’ digital and social media campaign. The goal is to support Telenor’s 2020 goal to educate four million children in online safety practices across its 13 international markets.

With half a billion children in Asia projected to have Internet access by 2020, Telenor first supported Stop Cyberbullying Day in 2016 and through multiple online safety initiatives throughout the year. The effort gathered 259 million impressions[1] of their #useheart hashtag to promote awareness of online safety and cyberbullying. In 2017, the company hopes to build on this engagement, débuting the custom-made ‘Be a Cyberhero’ profile picture filter for social media, cyberbullying tips graphics and multimedia, as well as other awareness-building activities on Telenor Pakistan and Telenor Group Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Telenor Pakistan: Making internet safer for children

Supporting the global efforts and pursuing its own goals, Telenor Pakistan has been an active ICT player in the fight against cyberbullying. The company has raised awareness amongst thousands of Pakistani children about safe and constructive use of internet through a number of ways that include the ‘Safe Internet’ school outreach program, a multilingual ‘Safe Internet Guide’ for parents, and internet safety themed iChamp program. Under these initiatives over 320,000 students were trained on how to be safe on internet and counter cyberbullying.

Tens of thousands of Telenor’s global employees are also playing a role, and will join the online movement by changing their profile pictures to share positive messages against cyberbullying.

“Cyberbullying has emerged as a grave threat to the mental and physical wellbeing of social media users, especially children who are more vulnerable in the digital space,” said Syed Faraz Shahid, Director Sustainability, Telenor Pakistan. “Telenor Pakistan has successfully taken forward the Group’s initiatives on promoting safety in online space and curbing digital bullying through programs like Safe Internet school outreach and iChamp. We at Telenor Pakistan are excited to be committing to the Group’s goal of educating four million children in online safety practices by 2020 as it will also expedite our own efforts to develop and promote a safe and productive digital space for the Pakistani youth. We are positive that we will emerge as the ‘Cyberhero’ that the campaign aims to produce.”

New studies: Cyberbullying on the rise
The 2017 initiative is run under the ’Be Smart, Use Heart’ Telenor global programme launched in 2016, which builds on the local success of several country programmes, such as Bruk Hue in Norway. The platform provides children and parents with information and tools on how to cope with digital bullying, staying safe online and keeping mobile devices secure. This increased focus on cyberbullying has been prompted by new studies indicating that cyberbullying is increasing, and evidence of the link that those bullied in-person, can also be targeted online. Markedly, 64% of the students who experienced cyberbullying specified that it affected their ability to learn and feel safe at school[2]. Additionally, 83% of the students who had been cyberbullied in the last 30 days had also been bullied at school recently[3].

Join the global conversation online by using the hashtag #useheart and #stopcyberbullyingday in posts about Stop Cyberbullying Day and the ‘Be a Cyberhero’ campaign

Read and share information on how to make the internet a safer environment for youth: Telenor Group provides a Parent Guide: How to talk to your children about the internet. Download English Guide | Download Urdu Guide